Attraction
by with eyes looking up
Summary: After all, he'd called her beautiful. JuuIno. Yes, Juugo. This is not a joke. REVISED 2 IS UP.
1. Chapter 1

**Attraction**

**JuuIno**

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She couldn't deny that she was attracted to him, and not in the 'I-wanna-sex-you-up' way, either. It was rather the old fashioned, 'I'm-a-gentlemen' allure that'd she'd only seen briefly in her life, maybe even a few times with Lee. It was hard to imagine with him being the criminal he was.

His eyes were gentle- the eyes of a jaded man that had seen far too much in his life, that just wanted all the suffering to end. She could sympathize: after her mother and father died on the last raid to Konoha, and with Sakura following shortly after, Ino had just about enough as she could bear. Wearily, she eyed the man propped against a tree across the darkened clearing, eyes wide and trained directly on her.

She shivered, and Shikamaru glanced at her. "What's up?"

Her eyes lifted to meet his and she tied to move her lips as little as possible, lest _he_ would understand. "He's staring at me. It's getting creepy."

Her friend and comrade sighed, tilting his head back to stare at the stars. "Go tell him to stop."

"_What_?"

"Go tell him to stop. Jeez, woman…has anyone ever told you that you scream like a banshee?" he winced (even that looked lazy to her) and scowled. She stuck her tongue out, standing anyway.

"If I die, my will is under my mattress. Anything I left for you now goes to Chouji." She snapped, annoyed as he yawned, and stalked over to the tree where their prisoner was bound to.

They'd – Chouji, Shikamaru and Ino – been sent to retrieve the team now formally known as Taka little over a week ago. It had taken a few days to find them, and even then they'd only found two of them- a redhead who refused to speak, and the gentle giant who introduced himself as Juugo. Neither had come willingly, per say (especially the redhead), but they didn't fight for very long. It seemed their team had just fought of a few hunter nins and was spilt up in the process. With no where else to go and having a bit of protection with the Leaf Nin, Juugo had tried to convince the redhead to go with them.

She was eventually knocked out by Shikamaru, who was complaining about her whining. (It was actually quite comical.) Then, she'd been tied up, hoisted on Chouji's shoulder, and they began to walk.

And now they were here.

Well, she was here, shifting awkwardly at the supposed-to-be-criminal-who-totally-looked-innocent, wishing that she didn't decide to do this. "Stop staring at me."

He-who-looks-innocent blinked at her, and she found it unnerving that even sitting down, his defy-gravity-hair-spikes ended at her shoulders. It was silent for a long while as they stared at one another – she, waiting for his response, and he…well, staring – before she snapped. "What!?"

A slow smile stretched his lips, and immediately she relaxed at the innocence of it. "You're very pretty."

Well, that was unexpected; Ino blinked in confusion, bewildered. "…what?"

He tilted his head at her. "You're pretty. Really pretty. Beautiful." He smiled, and the flitting image of Naruto made her smile. (They'd become friends over the years, but she hadn't seen him in a very long while.) "Erm, thank you." Feeling awkward, she quickly shuffled back over to the fire with her back to him, but felt his eyes on her all the same. Shikamaru had gone to sleep, leaving her with first watch. She sighed and settled for staring into the fire blankly, her mind struggling to figure out why her heart was beating as it was.

Sure, he was handsome, and nice, and possibly even likeable. But he was a criminal, and she should not be feeling like this towards a man like him. Almost as if he heard her thinking this, she felt his eyes drop and she bit her lips in guilt.

Suddenly she figured out why she liked him so much: combined with the fact that he reminded her so much of one Uzumaki Naruto, he had called her beautiful. Not sexy, or a babe, or any other rogue-ish names- _beautiful_. The only person who'd ever called her beautiful was her father, and he wasn't around to do that anymore. Almost instinctively she turned to look at the bound man before her, and he lifted his eyes to meet hers hesitantly.

In that moment that their gazes connected, she felt her heart swell because she knew he wasn't going to hurt her. He'd called her beautiful, he was looking at her like a kicked puppy, and he was trying to smile. He was innocent. With this thought in mind, she stood and walked back over to him, letting him free. "Here," she smiled at his bewildered face, "come and sit by the fire. It's warmer."

The smile that he returned made her the happiest she'd been in months, and for that, she thought that _just maybe_ she could learn to

(_love him_)

see past his title and look at the man beneath.

After all, he'd called her beautiful.

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**Alright, I'm going to be honest with you: I have no idea where this came from, or how any of it connects. I was just typing and…yeah. Whatever, I hope you guys liked it!**

**P. S. - If you haven't noticed yet, I love it when guys say "beautiful" instead of like, "sexy". It's very cute. :)**

**P. P. S. – I have no idea where Karin disappeared to, I just realized that. Get creative, say she's with Chouji. Or died. Or whatever. **

**P. P. P. S. – I realy do like both Ino and Karin. I think they'd make great friends. :D **

**P. P. P. P. S. - This MIGHT be continued. But you all know I fail at continuations. **


	2. Chapter 2

**4TTR4CT10N**

juuino

chapter 2…revised.

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The morning started innocent enough. Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino sat huddled around their map, pondering their next move while Juugo and Karin quietly ate their breakfasts on the opposite side of the clearing. The sky was a lightening blue above them and the air was chilly. Ino pulled her coat a little tighter around her as Shikamaru traced out Sasuke's path. "And this is where intelligence has lead us. It's a dead-end course for Oto. They're retracing their steps, and we intend to surround them. The Eastern flank has already mobilized…" Shikamaru's drone trailed off into a low mutter that Ino had absolutely no drive to listen to. She cast an eye around the camp distractedly, resting finally on the pair eating silently.

Juugo was as broody and mute as ever, orange spikes stabbing the morning chill. Idly, she wondered how he kept his hair like that, even after a night on the forest floor. Her eyes fell to the curtains draped around his shoulders as a makeshift cloak and retained a laugh, before noticing the way his hands shook. Curiously she watched as he ran his fingers threw his hair, speaking soft words to the woman next to him. She looked almost nervous. Ino frowned, wondering just what was the matter.

"Ino! Would you pay attention, please?" Shikamaru's harsh tone snapped her from her musings and into his annoyed gaze.

"What?"

He and Chouji heaved a collective sigh, shaking their heads. "I said," the tactician replied tersely, "we have to leave the prisoners with you. Chouji and I are going to help retrieve Sasuke. Can you get back to the village alright?"

"Of course. I'm not incapable." She scowled, annoyed at their lack of faith.

Chouji frowned unhappily at her reaction. "We know that, Ino. We're just worried. They could hurt you without Shikamaru's Shadow Possession."

She let out a long-drawn sigh. "Relax…Juugo likes me, he'll help if the screaming banshee gets out of control." They exchanged looks before her; she frowned. "…what?"

"You're putting too much faith in them. They're the enemy, Ino…they won't hesitate to kill you. And if you don't keep them on a tight leash, they _will_ take advantage of you." Shikamaru frowned, standing and rolling up the scroll. "You _will_ be careful, right?"

"Yes! Jeez, just go!" she snapped. Inwardly, she couldn't help but feel a little touched at their worry, even if it irked her somewhat. "I'm perfectly capable of handling them and myself. Go find Sasuke." She stood as well with Chouji, giving them both measured looks.

Shikamaru leveled her a flat stare, as was customary when he was deeply contemplating something, then stepped forward to kiss her temple. "We'll meet you back at the village, alright?"

She softened minutely slapping his arm. "Yeah, yeah. Go on." They sent her smiles, glanced at the watching prisoners, and disappeared faster than light. Ino peered through the trees for a long moment, then sighed quietly and turned. "Okay, guys, we're going to-"

"_Karin, no_!"

Suddenly she had a faceful of blazing red hair as the fiery woman launched herself at Ino. "Die, you stupid bitch!" was the animalistic battle cry as Ino tumbled to the ground, startled. Karin wasted no time in formalities, but instead opted for slipping a kunai from Ino's holster and attempting to stab her. She got as far as the blonde's defensive kunai and growled lowly above Juugo's yells. Karin, eyes wide with adrenaline, grinning as if she'd already won, pressed a painful forearm against the struggling blonde's throat. Ino's own eyes widened in alarm, mouth opening to gasp desperately for breath. Her desperate grip on her kunai faltered as Karin pressed harder, cutting off her air supply-

-and flew across the clearing as Juugo stood poised above her, crouched low on the ground as a ferocious snarl ripped through his throat. Ino took two seconds to see Karin's bleeding temple and petrified slash dazed expression before shouting a hoarse, _"Juugo, stop!!"_ and grabbing his arm.

She heard a growl of rage and the last thing she saw was a fist flying towards her at lightning speed before everything was black.

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"Ino, help me!" a faraway voice screamed in panic, and she felt a hand shake her violently. With a gasp, Ino shot up and tried to breathe correctly, blinking groggily at the brightness in her eyes. A different hand touched down on her hair, comforting.

"Juugo?"

"Ino, its fine. We've got them under control, you can relax," an unfamiliar voice soothed in her ear and she felt a hand on her forehead, and then the lights dimmed again and she was out.

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"Ino…?" a quiet voice murmured at her right. It took her a moment to realize her eyes were open, that she was staring at the flapping of a tent listlessly. It took another minute to force herself to look at Shikamaru, eyebrows draw and face pale, at her side.

"Worry isn't very attractive on you, Shikamaru." She hated the way her voice cracked.

"Oh thank gods. Are you alright?" he questioned, helping her to sit up, hands nervous and gentle against her skin. She sighed, pressing a hand to her bandaged forehead dazedly. He placed a canteen in her hand, forcing her to drink and for a long time it was silent. Finally she wiped her mouth and handed it back, coughing slightly.

"I'm fine. Where's Juugo?"

Almost immediately her teammate's eyes narrowed angrily. "You mean that one that almost sent you into a concussion?"

"Hey!" she protested heatedly, "It's not like it was his fault! It's Karin you should be punishing, Juugo was trying to he-"

"And that's why when we came back, we saw him literally punch your lights out? Right. Ino, stop the bullshit. I don't care how nice he seemed at first, he tried to_ kill_ you. And it took us almost half an hour to calm him down _after_ we got him away from you!" His voice had slowly risen from worried to pissed, and Ino paused at the plethora of reactions. It took a lot to rile him this much, usually.

"Why are you so mad?" she muttered, crossing her arms tensely.

"You almost died, Ino! You're my best friend, and when I saw you on the ground, I just…!" he trailed off. The air grew stony, their gazes sharpened in anger.

"I can take care of myself." She finally growled, "Why don't you believe that??"

"It's hard when you almost got yourself _killed_!"

"Whatever, Shikamaru, I'm not just some weak little girl! I just…ugh! You make me so-!" She turned away from him, fully intent of ignoring his presence. That is, until Shikamaru's lips closed over hers desperately, shaking fingers tight around her biceps and actions panicked.

"Don't. Please. Ino…I…I think I love you."

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The second after his words were uttered, Ino made a run for it. Unfortunately her legs tangled in the thick blanket, bringing her down to the floor with Shikamaru landing on top of her. He grunted softly, opening his eyes and fixating them upon his hand in horror in the long, cold, and empty silence. "I-Ino, I didn't mean to-!"

"First," she growled, shoving him off and stand slowly; deadly intent made him gulp loudly and scramble away, "you steal my first kiss. _Then_, you tell me you love me. _Then_, you _grope _me!?! Nara Shikamaru, _get out of my tent_!"

Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned.

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**PLOT TWIST, OH MY…**

Hey, guys. Miss me? It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Since…February…damn. Well, anyway. Finally got my incentive back with summer, and the outline is mostly done. I'll warn you, it won't be a super long story, this one. Ten to fifteen chapters, not even, probably. It'll probably have a lame ending.

Next on my list is DLS.

Drop a message. 


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